Star Beast Study Guide - Baen Books

BAEN BOOKS
TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE STAR BEAST
BY ROBERT A. HEINLEIN
Contents:
• recommended reading levels
• Heinlein biographical material and links
• background of the book and plot summary
• character sketches
• chapter guides include a more detailed plot summary and may also include some
of the following:
• Prepare to read…
• vocabulary
• focus questions or initiating activity
• plot summary
• quiz/reading comprehension questions—multiple choice/short answer
questions to testing reading comprehension
• reflection and discussion questions—may be used to initiate classroom
discussion, as short writing assignments, or as test questions
• suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration—suggestions for activities
and projects
Recommended reading levels: Heinlein’s young adult or “juvenile” fiction appeals to
readers of many ages, from early middle-school readers to adults, and much of his earlier
work can also be read by young adults even if they were originally marketed to older
readers. For use in the classroom, The Star Beast is probably most appropriate for readers
in grades 5-10. The Star Beast has been listed on several recommended reading lists for
children and young adults, including those of The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society
(“Recommended Reading for Children and Young Adults” by the staff of the Los
Angeles Science Fantasy Society, revised December 2007,
http://www.lasfsinc.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=95&Itemid=26
0#RRList) and The Golden Duck Awards for Excellence in Children’s Science Fiction
recommended reading list (http://www.sff.net/rff/readlist/goldduckrl.htm).
Biographical information on Robert Heinlein:
Robert Anson Heinlein is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, writers of
science fiction of all time. He was a prolific, commercially and critically successful, and
at times controversial, contributor to the genre. He was born in Butler, Missouri on July
7, 1907, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1929. Heinlein served
in the Navy during the 1930’s, but was forced to retire from the Navy because of
tuberculosis. He decided to try writing and sold “Lifeline”, a short story, in late 1939 in
Astounding Science Fiction, which was a “pulp” magazine. These were periodicals

published on cheap (pulp) paper that catered to popular tastes for genre fiction (mystery,
romance, detective, adventure, horror and science fiction). He was a regular contributor
to science fiction pulp magazines for the first several years of his career. He hit his stride
as a novelist after World War II, publishing fourteen “juvenile” novels aimed at the
young adult market as well as many novels for adults. Some of his most popular works
are Double Star (1956), The Door into Summer (1957), Starship Troopers (1959),
Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966), and Time
Enough for Love (1973), and four of his novels won the Hugo Award, which is presented
at the annual World Science Fiction Convention. Heinlein wrote the screenplays for two
movies: Destination Moon (1950) and Project Moonbase (1953), and two of his novels
have been adapted into films: The Puppet Masters (book, 1951; film, 1994) and Starship
Troopers (book, 1959; film, 1997). His novel Space Cadet (1948) also inspired the
television show Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950-1955). Heinlein died in Carmel,
California on May 8, 1988. For more biographical details, see the following articles:
• The Robert Heinlein Society offers a biographical essay by William H. Patterson,
Jr. (The Heinlein Society, http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/biographies.html)
and further information about Heinlein’s life and work (The Heinlein Society,
http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/FAQrah.html).
• Carlos Angelo, “Heinlein,” Robert A. Heinlein: Dean of Science Fiction Writers,
http://www.wegrokit.com/bio.htm
Suggested class activity: Have your students read the information on Heinlein above
before they begin the book.
For further information on Heinlein and his work:
• The most current and extensive website dedicated to Heinlein is that of The
Robert Heinlein Society (http://www.heinleinsociety.org/). In addition to the
biographical information linked above, the Society website includes news, essays,
forums and many other interesting areas to explore.
• Another useful website is RAH: The Robert A. Heinlein homepage by James
Gifford (http://www.nitrosyncretic.com/rah/). Although this web site is not
currently being updated, it contains useful FAQs, essays and links on Heinlein’s
life and work.
• Another website that is not currently being updated, but which provides some
interesting essays and biographical information is Robert A. Heinlein, Dean of
Science Fiction Writers (http://www.wegrokit.com/).
• There are several critical studies of Heinlein’s work that are available in book
form. The first and still one of the best is Heinlein in Dimension by Alexei
Panshin (Chicago: Advent: Publishers, Inc., 1968). Panshin devotes two pages to
The Star Beast and refers to it elsewhere in the book. A study that focuses
exclusively on Heinlein’s young adult fiction is Heinlein’s Children: The
Juveniles by Joseph T. Major (Chicago: Advent: Publishers, Inc., 2006). There is
a chapter on every Heinlein’s book that can be classified as “young adult,”

including The Star Beast, and Major contrasts and compares them with each other
as well as Heinlein’s other work. Another critical study that, unfortunately, does
not mention The Star Beast is Robert Heinlein by Leon Stover (Boston: Twayne
Publishers, 1987).
Background: Heinlein wrote The Star Beast in 1953. Scribner’s published it in
hardcover in 1954, and a slight abridgement was serialized under the title "Star Lummox"
in The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy in the May, June, and July 1954 issues.
Plot Summary: John Thomas Stuart XI’s great-grandfather was a crewperson on The
Trail Blazer, one of the first human starships. After the ship’s second voyage, he brought
home a pet the size of a Chihuahua that he had smuggled aboard during a visit to an alien
planet. The pet, later named Lummox, is still alive after one hundred years, but has
grown to be larger than a hippopotamus. One day Lummox escapes from the Stuart
family home and rampages through the neighborhood and the downtown area of the
nearest city. Although he does not hurt anyone, he destroys a considerable amount of
property. Deciding Lummox is dangerous, the authorities give the local police chief
permission to put Lummox down, but he finds that Lummox is really hard to kill. John
Thomas rescues Lummox before he can be put to death, and they escape into a nearby
mountain range. Meanwhile, an alien starship appears in orbit around the Earth. The
aliens demand that the humans return a member of their species who was kidnapped a
century earlier or else they will destroy our planet. Eventually, it is determined that
Lummox is a member of that alien species and that he is the one for whom they are
looking.
Characters:
• Lummox is the pet of the Stuart family and is at least one hundred years old. A
member of the Stuart family found him on an alien planet and brought him home.
He is bigger than a hippopotamus, has eight legs, talks, is impervious to bullets
and anti-tank projectiles, and is hungry almost all the time. (He once ate a Buick.)
He is also intelligent, although no one knows how smart he really is.
• John Thomas Stuart XI aka “Johnnie” is the most recent scion of the Stuart
family, whose ancestral home is in the town of Westville, which is somewhere in
the western part of North America. He is a high school senior who has a girlfriend
and wants to go to college to become a xenologist, someone who studies alien
species.
• Mrs. Stuart is a single stay-at-home mother whose husband never returned from
a space voyage.
• Betty Sorenson is John Thomas’s girlfriend. She divorced her parents and wants
to become a lawyer.
• Chief Dreiser is the police chief of Westville as well as a deacon and Sunday
school teacher at Betty’s church.
• Henry Gladstone Kiku is Permanent Undersecretary for Spatial Affairs, meaning
he is the highest ranking civil servant on Earth in charge of all matters relating to

outer space. A native of Kenya, a country in Africa, he was educated at Oxford
University, is married, and is close to retirement age.
• Roy MacClure is Secretary for Spatial Affairs and Mr. Kiku’s official boss.
• Ftaeml is a Rargyllian, an alien species whose most pronounced physical
characteristic are tendrils that emanate from their heads. He is a professional
translator who also mediates disputes between different species.
• Sergei Greenberg is one of Mr. Kiku’s subordinates. He is a human who was
born on Mars but returned to Earth to attend Harvard Law School.
• Judge O’Farrell is the district judge of Westville and also a graduate of Harvard
Law School.
• Mr. Perkins represents the Exotic Life Laboratory of the Museum of Natural
History.
• Beulah Murgatroyd is the creator of Pidgie-Widgie, the hero of the best-selling
children’s stories of the time, and the founder of “The Friends of Lummox.”
• Wesley Robbins is the Special Assistant Secretary for public relations and used
to work in the media.
• Hovey is a newspaperman in Westville.
CHAPTER SUMMARIES
Chapter I—L-Day
• prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• scaffolding
• tarpaulin
• vertical
• horizontal
• caterpillar
• viaduct
• metabolism
• greenhouse
• Focus question/initiating activity: How good a pet is Lummox? He is
obviously quite intelligent, because he recognizes that John Thomas will grow
up one day. On the other hand, Lummox causes a great deal of trouble for
John Thomas when he escapes from his enclosure. Ask if any of the students’
pets have ever run loose and caused trouble for them and/or their family.
• Chapter summary: In this chapter, we are introduced to Lummox, John Thomas,
his mother, Betty, and Chief Dreiser. We learn that Lummox’s chief motivations
are boredom and hunger, that John Thomas is spending less and less time with
Lummox and more and more time with Betty, and that Lummox can talk. Both
John Thomas and Betty are old enough that they are thinking of life after high
school and just had an argument over where to go to college. During Lummox’s
escape, he destroys a great deal of property, including a flower bed, a vegetable
farm, several cars, a few lamp posts, and a mall. However, he does not hurt

anyone, and people frighten him just as much as he frightens them. When the
police bring John Thomas to take him home, Lummox is hiding in a viaduct. John
Thomas rides Lummox home with a police escort. During the trip, Betty joins
them. Betty plans to become a lawyer and advises John Thomas as if he were
under arrest.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions:
1. Lummox is a native of what planet?
(a) Mars
(b) Vulcan
(c) Tattooine
(d) unknown
2. When the reader first meets John Thomas, he is
(a) Taking a nap
(b) Playing chess with Lummox
(c) Getting home after an argument with Betty
(d) Watching television
3. Mrs. Stuart is
(a) A single stay-at-home mother
(b) A doctor
(c) An engineer
(d) A bus driver
4. When does John Thomas know he is in trouble?
(a) When the police arrest him
(b) When his mother calls him “John Thomas” rather than “John” or
“Johnnie”
(c) When Lummox destroys the Stuart house
Answers: 1-d, 2-c, 3-a, 4-b
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: Heinlein introduces two important
female characters. Contrast and compare Betty and Mrs. Stuart.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: Both John Thomas and Betty have
personal helicopters, and the police have flying cars. Have the students research
the history of flight.
Chapter II—The Department of Spatial Affairs

• prepare to read:
• vocabulary
extra-terrestrial
tentacles
medusa
cephalopod
• focus questions or initiating activity
• Have you students research the history of space exploration. Using
the second and third paragraphs in this chapter, discuss how much
farther human beings will have travelled in the time period of this
book.
• Chapter summary: The second chapter introduces Kiku, Greenberg, MacClure,
and Ftaeml. Kiku is a very busy man and has grave responsibilities, including matters
of life and death. He has gone as high in civil service as he can go and reports directly
to a political appointee. One of his weaknesses is a fear of snakes, and one of his
upcoming appointments is with Ftaeml, a Rargyllian. This alien species is
distinguished by tentacles attached to their heads, which look like snakes to Kiku.
One of his new problems that day is what to do about Lummox, and he assigns
Greenberg to handle it.
• Quiz/reading comprehension questions:
1. When Mr. Kiku’s boss visits him, what do they discuss?
(a) Baseball
(b) Project Cerberus, a power proposal for the research station on Pluto
(c) The importation of Martian sand grass into the Tibetan Plateau
(d) Whether to provide police protection for a group of students from
another planet
2. Where is Mr. Kiku considering spending his retirement?
(a) In a condominium in Florida
(b) At a ski resort in the Himalayas
(c) On a farm in Kenya
(d) On a cruise to see the rings of Saturn
3. What is Greenberg’s official position?
(a) chief of System Trade Intelligence
(b) Governor of a state
(c) Chief inspector of mines
(d) Head translator

Answers: 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: Like Indiana Jones, Kiku is afraid of
snakes. Ask the students if they are afraid of snakes and why.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: A starship has been named for
Simon Bolivar. Have you students research the man and explain why he deserves
to have a ship named after him.
Chapter III—“An Improper Question”
• prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• intervention
• gymkhana
• tumor
• postponement
• homestead
• jurisdiction
• girders
• Focus question/initiating activity: In this chapter, Greenberg has to
decide whether to treat Lummox as an animal or as a person. As a
person, he automatically has rights. Under Federation law, the three
criteria are whether (1) the being can talk, (2) has hands, or some
equivalent, to use tools, and (3) keeps records, oral, pictorial, or
written. Lummox can talk, but has no hands or any evidence of
keeping records of any kind, so Greenberg decides to treat him as an
animal. Is Greenberg making the right decision?
• Chapter summary: Greenberg requests the use of the local courthouse for the
hearing to determine Lummox’s fate and asks Judge O’Farrell, the local district
judge, to have all interested parties and witnesses there at 10 AM the following
morning. Since Lummox is too big to enter the building through the doors, a special
pen is constructed to hold him for the day, and he is already inside it by the time
Greenberg arrives. John Thomas is checking on two swellings on Lummox where his
shoulders would have been if he had arms when Betty joins him. Judge O’Farrell
arrives and introduces John Thomas and Betty to Greenberg who examines Lummox
and talks to him, but tentatively concludes that his legal status is that of an animal
since he has no hands. He recommends postponing the hearing to check his
conclusion, but Judge O’Farrell talks him out of it on the grounds that all the
interested parties and witnesses are present and that it would be unfair to make them
return the following day.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions:
1. Chief Dreiser and his men arrive at 4 AM to escort Lummox and John

Thomas to the courthouse, but they do not actually leave until 7 AM.
What was the cause of the delay?
(a) Mrs. Stuart and John Thomas shoot Chief Dreiser
(b) John Thomas insists on eating breakfast first, and Chief Dreiser
and his men join them for coffee.
(c) Lummox runs away
2. What materials is Lummox’s pen at the courthouse made of
(a) Steel girders
(b) Straw
(c) Wooden sticks
(d) Bricks
3. Who orders Lummox to stay in the pen?
(a) John Thomas
(b) Judge O’Farrell
(c) Chief Dreiser
(d) Betty
Answers: 1-b; 2-a; 3-d
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: What is the difference between a person
and an animal? Do animals have rights?
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: There have been attempts to teach
animals such as gorillas and chimpanzees to talk. Have the students research the
Internet to read about the latest findings.
Chapter IV ---- The Prisoner at the Bars
• prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• babble
• paraphernalia
• bailiff
• preliminary
• preposterous
• chattel
• transcript
• exemplary

• Chapter summary: Greenberg calls the hearing to order, but his style is very
informal. Among the parties represented are the mall and its insurance company,
John Thomas and Mrs. Stuart, their next door neighbor, the vegetable farmer, and
the city. Witnesses include two police officers. Betty asks to represent John
Thomas, although she is younger than eighteen and not a lawyer. Then Betty
reveals that she has just bought a half-interest in Lummox. Greenberg finally
gives in and allows John Thomas and Betty to represent themselves. One
organization that Greenberg does not allow to participate is the Keep Earth
Human League, who are anti-extraterrestrial. Greenberg then allows testimony
from the interested parties and the witnesses. At the end of the day, he concludes
that he has enough information to make a decision. Greenberg dismisses all
criminal charges against Lummox and the Stuarts as well as all punitive charges
against them in civil lawsuits. The Department of Spatial Affairs will, Greenberg
decides, pay for all real damages caused by Lummox. On the other hand, he
orders that local authorities take possession of Lummox from John Thomas.
Meanwhile, Lummox has gotten lonely for John Thomas so he breaks out of his
cage, breaks through the wall of the courthouse, and enters the courtroom.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions:
1. When the representative from the Keep Earth Human League asks to speak,
Greenberg grants him his wish. Where does he allow him to speak?
(a) In the courtroom
(b) On the courthouse lawn
(c) On television
(d) Over the Internet
2. Greenberg uses a kind of lie detector. What is it called?
(a) Truth meter
(b) Falsehood sensor
(c) Fib finder
(d) Untruth gauge
3. How does Lummox know that John Thomas is inside the courtroom?
(a) He watched the proceedings on cable TV
(b) Chief Dreiser told him
(c) He heard John Thomas’s voice
(d) Lummox has X-Ray vision
Answers: 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: Betty argues that she is the one best
qualified to represent John Thomas, because she is the only one with his best
interests at heart. Why would his mother not be the most qualified?

• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: The hearing proceedings are
unorthodox according to the local attorneys, including Judge O’Farrell. What
would have happened if Greenberg had conducted the hearing in a more
conventional manner?
Chapter V—A Matter of Viewpoint
Prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• memorandum
• prejudice
• intervention
• psychiatrist
• subconscious
• Focus questions/initiating activity: As you read, note how Mr. Kiku acts
toward the people under him in the civil service, including the Bureau of
Engineering, Wong, and Greenberg.
• Chapter summary: Kiku is sitting in his office and reading his mail, including a
report from the Bureau of Engineering, another about “The Friends of Lummox”,
a memo about a food virus, and finally Greenberg’s field report. He summons
Greenberg to discuss the report in person and criticizes Greenberg’s decisions.
The reader learns that after Lummox had interrupted the hearing by crashing
through the wall, Greenberg orders his destruction. The reader also learns that
Chief Dreiser has tried to both drown and poison Lummox, but Lummox is still
alive. However, Kiku does not reverse Greenberg’s decision. In the meantime, a
hypnotherapist has arrived to prepare Mr. Kiku for his meeting with Dr. Ftaeml
and orders Greenberg to take over for him for a while. After thinking about
Lummox for a few minutes, he modifies his decision in the matter to postpone
Lummox’s destruction until he is studied by scientists. He also reviews a report
on a new alien species called the Hroshii whose spaceship is in orbit around the
Earth and who are convinced that one of their people is being held prisoner by
humans and are demanding his release. Greenberg considers whether Lummox is
a Hroshii, but rejects the idea because Lummox has no hands and is too stupid to
be a member of a species capable of interstellar travel.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions
1. Greenberg concludes that Lummox is not intelligent, because he has no hands.
Does Mr. Kiku agree?
2. What unusual item has Lummox eaten since the hearing?
a. a car

. a reservoir intake valve
c. a desk
d. a chair
Answers: 1-No. Mr. Kiku suspects that someday they will meet an intelligent
species without hands. At the very least, Greenberg should have postponed his
judgment pending further study. 2-b.
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: Mr. Kiku hates snakes. Have the
students discuss any animals that they don’t like to get close to, such as insects or
spiders.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: Mr. Kiku refers to the time
“Solomon ordered the baby sawed in half.” This is a story from the Bible (First
Kings, Chapter 3, Verses 16 to 28). Have the students look it up on the Internet.
Chapter VI—“Space Is Deep, Excellency”
• prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• compatriot
• bifurcate
• urbane
• auxiliary
• mercenary
• hegemony
• geocentric
• Initiating activity: Discuss with the students the concepts of diplomacy
and what ambassadors do.
• Chapter summary: Kiku finally has his dreaded meeting with Ftaeml and has
Greenberg join him. Having grown up on Mars, Greenberg learned to get along
with aliens, so he is not bothered by Dr. Ftaeml’s appearance. They learn that the
Hroshii do not take pictures, so Dr. Ftaeml does not have one to help Mr. Kiku
locate their missing person. He does describe them, but they do not resemble
Lummox. Kiku and Greenberg also learn that the Hroshii vessel in orbit around
the Earth is a military ship. They have been searching for the kidnappers, and
their only clue was their physical appearance. Dr. Ftaeml provides information on
the location of the Hroshii home planet, and Mr. Kiku orders his department’s
best astrogator to see if he can match it to a voyage of a human starship. Mr.
MacClure, Mr. Kiku’s boss, interrupts their meeting with another problem so
Greenberg and Dr. Ftaeml go out to dinner and visit a nightclub. After leaving Dr.

Ftaeml at his hotel, Greenberg returns to the office to find Kiku still working.
After reviewing the astrogator’s work, they conclude that Lummox must be a
Hroshii.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions:
1. When Greenberg and Dr. Ftaeml are at a night club, Ftaeml makes a remark
that bothers Greenberg. What is it?
2. Why do Kiku and Greenberg conclude that Lummox must be Hroshii?
Answers: 1—Dr. Ftaeml implies that the Hroshii can easily destroy the Earth if
they so desire. 2—The time period when the missing Hroshii disappeared
coincided with the second voyage of the Trailblazer, which is when John
Thomas’s ancestor brought Lummox home.
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: The officers and crew of the Trailblazer
obviously kept poor records. What would have happened if they had kept good
records, especially about any extraterrestrial animals they brought home?
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: There is a reference to the “Great
Martians”. Have the students research the search for life on Mars.
Chapter VII—“Mother Knows Best”
• prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• electrocution
• Focus question: Would any of the students sell their pet to a zoo or
museum?
• Chapter summary: Lummox gets tired of Dreiser’s attempts to kill him, so he
walks home. The reader learns that Greenberg’s order postponing Lummox’s
execution has been sent to the wrong address. John Thomas and Lummox finally
get to spend some time together, but a Mr. Perkins pays them a visit. He
represents a museum that wants to buy Lummox. One of Perkins’s selling points
is that the museum can hire lawyers to protect Lummox from the authorities.
Another is that the museum will hire John Thomas to take care of him, although
Mrs. Stuart wants John Thomas to go to college instead. Finally, John Thomas
agrees to the sale.

• quiz/reading comprehension questions:
1. Instead of Westville, Greenberg’s modification of his order goes to
(a) Walla Walla, Washington
(b) Pluto
(c) Kalamazoo, Michigan
2. What is the price that Mrs. Stuart negotiates for Lummox?
(a) 30 pieces of silver
(b) one million dollars
(c) $20,000 after all insurance claims are settled
Answers: 1-b, 2-c
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: Ask whether the price for Lummox is a
fair one. Explain to the students the concept of price inflation.
• Suggested activity/inquiry-based exploration: Have the students research the
history of zoos and museums.
Chapter VIII—The Sensible Thing To Do
Prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• submarine
• emigrate
• sentimentality
• Focus question/initiating activity: John Thomas and Betty do not have cell
or smart phones, personal computers, or the Internet, but they do have
personal helicopters. Which would the students prefer and why?
• Chapter summary: John Thomas is unhappy about the situation, so he retreats to
his secret room in the attic, where he stores some of his possessions and where he
has secretly built his own phone extension. His great-grandfather had kept a paper
diary of the second voyage of The Trailblazer, and John Thomas re-read the parts
that deal with Lummox and the planet he is from. The reader learns about the
history of the Stuart family, which includes a sea captain, an early aviator, a
submariner during World War II, a member of the first expedition to the Moon, a
colonizer of Mars and a leader in that planet’s struggle for independence from
Earth, and interstellar space explorers. One of the previous John Thomases spent
the last fifteen years of his life on a penal colony on Triton, a moon of Neptune,
and another had been forced to resign from the space service as an alternative to a

court martial. Just before John Thomas goes to bed, Betty calls him, and he
explains what he has done. Betty argues that he did the wrong thing.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions
1. What were John Thomas, Junior, John Thomas III, and John Thomas doing
when they died?
2. Where was John Thomas VII when he died?
Answers: 1- J.T. Junior was flying an early airplane, J.T. III was serving on board
a submarine during World War II, and J.T. IV was exploring the Moon. 2—He
was in prison on Triton, a moon of Saturn.
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: Ask the students how much they know
about their ancestors.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: Heinlein mentions the Einstein
barrier, which is a reference to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Have the students
look it up.
• NOTE: Many editions of The Star Beast omit one page of the original hardcover
and magazines versions. It is from this chapter and the passage in which John
Thomas is reading the diary. It concerns The Trailblazer’s visit to what John
Thomas concludes is Lummox’s home world. Be aware of this in case the
students are reading different editions of the text.
Chapter IX—Customs and an Ugly Duckling
• prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• transcontinental
• expressway
• gargantuan
• inchworm
• Focus question/initiating activity: Asked the students whether they
ever considered running away from home and why.
• Chapter summary: John Thomas decides that he and Lummox need to run away
from home. Careful not to wake up his mother, he assembles all his hunting and
camping gear, all his cash, and as many groceries as he can carry. He wakes up
Lummox and crawls on top of him, and then Lummox starts walking. The Stuart

house is only a few miles from a branch of the Rocky Mountains, so they follow
an old highway in that direction. When the sun comes up, they find a hiding place
in a grove of trees and settle in for some sleep. Meanwhile, Kiku is already awake
and tries to call Ftaeml, who has left for the space port. Kiku goes there himself to
meet him. Kiku tells Ftaeml that they may have located the missing Hroshii,
meaning Lummox, and Ftaeml tells him that the single Hroshii spaceship in orbit
is capable of destroying the Earth. Kiku gives Ftaeml permission to tell the
Hroshii that they may have found their missing person and hopes that they have.
After returning to his office, Kiku then calls Greenberg, who has already returned
to Westville only to find that John Thomas and Lummox have disappeared.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions
1. John Thomas’s sleeping bag has
(a) A gps
(b) A cell phone
(c) A DVD player
(d) A thermostat and power pack to provide heat
2. How are the Hroshii planning to demonstrate their power?
(a) Make a mark on the moon that would be visible to the naked eye on Earth
(b) Melt the polar ice caps
(c) Alter the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
Answers: 1-d, 2-a
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: Ask the students what they would take
with them if they ever had to leave home in an emergency.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: Heinlein refers to the time when
Native Americans greeted Columbus. Have the students research the voyages of
Columbus and their effect on Native Americans.
Chapter X—The Cygnus Decision
• Prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• hogshead
• malignancy
• inchoate

• acquisition
• boa constrictor
• bivouac
• uranium
• radiation
• Focus question: It is time to revisit a question from a previous chapter.
Except for Kiku, everyone assumes that an intelligent being has to have
hands. Would dolphins qualify as intelligent?
• Chapter summary: When John Thomas wakes up, he finds that Lummox has
killed a grizzly bear that had disturbed their camp and is having it for breakfast.
John Thomas does not join him but has a meal-ready-to-eat of ham and eggs. It is
still daylight so they continue to hide. However, one of Lummox’s swellings
itches so he rubs it against a pine tree. Suddenly it breaks open and out pops an
arm. Realizing what has happened, John Thomas uses his knife to nick to the
other swelling, and another arms pops out. After sunset, they continue deeper into
the mountains. At sunrise, they look for another hiding place, but are unable to
find a suitable one. Then John Thomas sees a personal helicopter. The pilot also
sees him and Lummox and lands. Fortunately, the pilot turns out to be Betty.
They update each other on the developments. Betty informs him that every police
officer in the area is looking for him.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions
1. What is the Cygnus decision?
2. How many digits do Lummox’s hands have?
3. How did Betty know where to look for John Thomas and Lummox?
Answers: 1—A legal case that established that a being that talks and has hands is
assumed to be a person and has same rights as humans until proven otherwise.
2—seven; 3—She knows him well enough to know how he thinks.
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: Ask the students what it would
be like to live without hands.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: One of John Thomas’s ideas is
for him and Lummox to join a carnival. Have the students research carnivals, side
shows, and the life of P.T. Barnum.
Chapter XI—“It’s Too Late, Johnnie!”
• Prepare to read:

• vocabulary
• abacus
• slip stick
• subversive
• octagon
• Focus questions/initiating activity: The police/military forces need to
capture Lummox without hurting him. Ask the students how they would
try to catch him.
• Chapter summary: For the first time in several days, John Thomas and Betty
spend some quality time with each other with Lummox as a chaperone. Then they
hear an airship and conclude that the police and/or military are searching their
area of the forest. They tell Lummox not to move and try to be still themselves in
case the authorities are using motion detectors. Then there are two flashes of light.
Next, they hear at least four airships surrounding them. Finally, the searchers use
some kind of gas to immobilize them. Fortunately, they learn that the searchers
are under strict orders to capture them without hurting them.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions:
1. John Thomas’s Aunt Tessie believes in what?
(a) scientology
(b) astrology
(c) psychology
(d) epistemology
Answer: (b) astrology.
• Suggestions for reflection and discussion: Why have the authorities changed their
attitude about wanting to kill Lummox?
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: Betty discusses having divorced
her parents. Have the students research the lawsuit of Kimberly Mays, who in
1993 sued to divorce her parents.
Chapter XII—Concerning Pidgie-Widgie
• Prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• stereovision
• precedent
• protocol
• Focus questions/initiating activity: For those students who have cats for

pets, ask them if they really “own” their cats.
• Chapter summary: Kiku thinks he has solved the Hroshii problem when
Greenberg and Ftaeml arrive to inform him that there have been complications. First,
Lummox is not a “he” but rather a “she.” Second, Lummox does not consider herself
to be John Thomas’s pet. Instead, she considers John Thomas to be her pet. She is
demanding that her people produce John Thomas to accompany her back to her home
planet. It also turns out the Lummox is a person of such great importance that her
whims have the status of imperial commands. The Hroshii in turn are demanding that
the humans hand over John Thomas or they will destroy the world. Kiku asks Ftaeml
to convey two messages. The first is to the commander of the Hroshii expedition that
their demand is rejected. The second is to Lummox that her people are threatening to
kill John Thomas. After Ftaeml leaves, Kiku orders that John Thomas and his mother
be brought to the space port. Then Secretary MacClure interrupts him to tell him that
Beulah Murgatroyd, the most popular children’s book author of the time and founder
of “The Friends of Lummox”, is there to interview him. Kiku feels he is too busy and
has an argument with MacClure over his authority and his handling of the situation.
Then Kiku informs him about the new Hroshii crisis. MacClure is ready to do battle
with the Hroshii rather than turn over John Thomas, but Kiku talks him out of it,
citing an example from human history about a battle between forces with different
levels of technology. Then he persuades MacClure that he has a plan to resolve the
crisis.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions:
1. Is Lummox an adult?
2. What is a hunkie?
3. How many people joined the Friends of Lummox within the first 24 hours of its
founding?
4. How many sexes to the Hroshii have?
Answers: 1—No, she is actually still a child by the standards of the Hroshii; 2—
the best-selling breakfast food in the world; 3—three million; 4—six.
• Suggestions for reflection and discussion: Kiku had never heard of Pidgie-Widgie
until the author of the stories became involved with Lummox. Ask the students if
they know anyone who has never heard of Sponge Bob Square Pants.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: As a native of Africa, Kiku cites
an event from African history. Have the students research the colonization of
Africa by European countries in the 19 th century.
Chapter XIII—“No, Mr. Secretary”

• Prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• insolent
• xenophobic
• beachcomber
• inflammatory
• paternalistic
• squib
• severance
• expediency
• lascivious
• dispersal
• fringe
• Focus question/initiating activity: Ask your students to look up the phrase
reductio ad absurdum. How does Kiku use it in his argument with
MacClure?
• Chapter summary: When Kiku goes into his office the following day, Special
Assistant Secretary for public relations Wesley Robbins is waiting for him. The
previous night, MacClure leaked the story of the Hroshii and their demands to the
media without checking with either Robbins or Kiku. This has created a media
uproar that threatens to escalate the crisis to an all-out war between the two
species. They go to MacClure’s office to confront him. Kiku and MacClure have
another argument, and Robbins sides with Kiku. MacClure fires Kiku, but then
Robbins points out that that MacClure’s superior, the Secretary-General of the
Federation, will almost certainly fire MacClure and re-hire Kiku, assuming
anyone is still alive after the crisis passes. Another scenario is that the Federation
Council fires the Secretary-General, who in turn fires MacClure and re-hires Kiku
anyway. Instead, Robbins persuades MacClure that he needs to resign and make it
look like it was his decision all along.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions
1. When MacClure fires Kiku, what does Kiku do?
(a) He calls a press conference.
(b) He gets drunk.
(c) He begins to leave MacClure’s office, but Robbins stops him.
2. Who blackmails MacClure into resigning?
(a) Robbins

(b) Kiku
(c) Greenberg
(d) Murgatroyd
3. When will MacClure’s resignation be announced?
(a) Immediately
(b) After the Secretary-General resigns
(c) After the Hroshiian crisis is resolved
(d) In two weeks
Answers: 1-c; 2-a; 3-d
• Suggestions for reflection and discussion: Would the students be willing to
sacrifice John Thomas’s freedom to prevent a war between the humans and the
Hroshii?
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: In this future, there are still
newspapers. Have the students research the history of newspapers.
Chapter XIV—“Destiny! Fiddlesticks”
• Prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• persona non grata
• transcending
• aggregation
• Cro-Magnon
• Neanderthal
• Initiating activity: Have the students research the common flatworm. Kiku
compares the Hroshii to them, because they both grow when fed, shrink
when not fed, and are hard to kill.
• Chapter summary: Greenberg is back in Westville to persuade John Thomas and
Mrs. Stuart to travel to the Capital Enclave, where Kiku hopes to persuade them
that John Thomas should accompany Lummox back to the Hroshii home world.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Stuart follows the news and has no intention of surrendering
John Thomas to the Hroshians, so she refuses to see him. While he is waiting, a
local newspaperman named Hovey interviews him. Greenberg says that the
Federation is not going to give John Thomas to the Hroshians but rather that since
John Thomas has special knowledge of the species from his long association with
Lummox, they want him to help with the negotiations. Then Chief Dreiser calls to
tell him that John Thomas is missing and that Greenberg had better not have
kidnapped him. Finally Betty calls him and, using a code, asks if John Thomas

travels to the Capital whether he will be able to see Lummox. Greenberg answers
in the affirmative and arrangement for a time and place for him to give Betty the
money necessary. After a few hours, he calls Mrs. Stuart and asks if she would
like to accompany him back to the Capital on his private plane. Realizing that
John Thomas was already en route, she reluctantly accepts Greenberg’s offer.
Kiku meets with John Thomas after he arrives and asks whether he would be
willing to accompany Lummox back to his home world. John Thomas
immediately agrees, because Lummox wants and needs him. Kiku then meets
with Mrs. Stuart and has a much more challenging time persuading her to let John
Thomas go. He informs her that he wants to send John Thomas to the Hroshii
home world as part of a large cultural and scientific mission. She refuses, saying
that John Thomas needs to go to college to study law. Kiku points out the mission
will be staffed by experts in their fields, so if they tutor John Thomas, he will
receive an education equal to or better than any college or university on Earth.
When she argues that he will need a degree, Kiku counters that they can always
create an organization to bestow a degree. He also points out the John Thomas
and Lummox have a special relationship and that if John Thomas does not
accompany Lummox to her planet, then Lummox will accompany him back to
Westville. Finally, Kiku points out that John Thomas could divorce his mother, as
Betty divorced her parents. Nonetheless, Mrs. Stuart refuses to give in.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions
1. Where does Greenberg meet Betty?
2. Why does Kiku assign a bodyguard to John Thomas?
3. How long ago did the Hroshiian plan begin?
4. When was Lummox’s part in the plan conceived?
5. Why are children allowed to divorce their parents?
Answers: 1—a snack shop called The Chocolate Bar; 2—to keep him from
reporters; 3—about 38,000 years ago; 4—about 2,000 years ago; 5—to prevent an
abuse of parental power.
• Suggestions for reflection and discussion: Ask whether any of the students have
discussed their future with their parents.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: Have your students research
animal breeding programs.
Chapter XV—Undiplomatic Relations

• prepare to read:
• vocabulary
powwow
lavish
rostrum
barricade
plenipotentiary
sovereignty
baleful
prerogative
• Initiating activity: Ftaeml claims that the Hroshii can destroy the Earth.
Ask the students if they have seen any movies such as Independence Day
which feature alien invaders.
• Chapter summary: The following morning, Kiku meets with the Hroshii at the
ground floor auditorium of the Spatial Affairs building. He is joined by
Greenberg, MacClure, and an actor doubling for the Secretary-General. Ftaeml
serves as translator for both sides. The leader of the Hroshii’s main item of
business is for the humans to hand over John Thomas. Kiku insists that the two
sides must establish embassies on each other’s home worlds. The Hroshii
eventually agree, and they work out the details. Then they discuss the status of
John Thomas. Kiku insists that John Thomas will be free to come and go
whenever he wishes, as befitting a free person, but the Hroshii insist that John
Thomas can only come and go at the pleasure of Lummox. On this point,
negotiations stop.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions
1. Who will become the ambassador to the Hroshii?
2. Who will be the deputy ambassador?
3. Where will Ftaeml serve?
Answers: 1—MacClure; 2—Greenberg; 3—He will stay on Earth as
interpreter for the Hroshii mission.
• Suggestions for reflection and discussion: The Secretary-General does not
attend this conference, but sends a double instead. Why would he do this?
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: Have the students research the
history of diplomacy.

Chapter XVI—“Sorry We Messed Things Up”
• Prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• Puritans
• barricade
• magnification
• binoculars
• Initiating activity: Ask the students if they have ever played checkers and,
if not, explain the basics of the game.
• Chapter summary: John Thomas is in his hotel suite playing checkers with his
bodyguard when Betty and her bodyguard show up. They decide to go for a flight.
John Thomas asks the taxi driver to fly over to the space port so that he can see
Lummox. They cannot go through the barricade that surrounds the Hroshii ship, but
John Thomas can see Lummox from a distance. He shouts a greeting, which Lummox
hears and runs to him, crashing through the barricade. They are re-united and
Lummox takes John Thomas and Betty inside the barricade so they can talk. By the
time Kiku, Greenberg, and Ftaeml arrive, the situation is calm but tense, because of
the breach of security. They are allowed to go inside the barricade to see John
Thomas, Betty, and Lummox. The leaders of the Hroshii are also there. John Thomas
introduces Lummox to Kiku, who asks Ftaeml to inform Lummox of the course of
negotiations in the Hroshii language. She angrily informs the Hroshii that she and
John Thomas are friends and that John Thomas will have the right to come and go as
he pleases.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions
1. Lummox has lost weight since John Thomas last saw her. Why?
(a) The Hroshii have stopped feeding her
(b) She is exercising more
(c) She has had a liposuction
(d) She hasn’t lost weight. John Thomas is just imagining it.
2. Where is Mrs. Stuart during this time?
(a) Meeting with her lawyers
(b) Trying to get through the barricades
(C) back in Westville
(d) She is out shopping

3. Where do they find the air taxi?
(a) On the street
(b) In front of the hotel
(c) On the roof of the hotel
(d) At the bus station
Answers: 1—a; 2—d; 3—c
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: The relationship between John Thomas
and Lummox is no longer one of owner/pet or pet/owner. They are friends and
equals. Discuss what this means.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: Betty’s bodyguard carried a
“bodyphone” which is the equivalent of today’s cell phone. Have the students
research the history of mobile communications.
Chapter XVII—Ninety-Seven Pickle Dishes
• Prepare to read:
• vocabulary
• composure
• discretionary
• attaché
• avarice
• ambassador
• matriarchy
• Initiating activity: In the relationship between John Thomas and Betty, are
they equals or is one partner dominant?
• Chapter summary: Kiku and Betty meet to discuss her place in the new embassy
to the Hroshii. He informs her that Lummox’s hobby for the last hundred years
has been to “raise John Thomases.” He inquires whether she would consider
marrying to John Thomas and starting a family. She replies that this has been her
plan for years, although she has not told John Thomas yet, but the events of the
past few weeks have caused her to accelerate her timetable. With that matter
settled, she has an agenda of her own, and she negotiates a grander title and
higher salary for John Thomas than Kiku had originally planned. A few days
later, John Thomas and Betty get married and spend the honeymoon on the
Hroshii ship en route to Lummox’s home world.
• quiz/reading comprehension questions

1. What is Betty’s legal status at the beginning of the chapter?
(a) A Free Child. She had divorced her parents.
(b) An adult
(c) A slave
(d) An army officer
2. How did Kiku propose to his wife?
(a) He didn’t. She proposed to him.
(b) He took her to a restaurant and arranged to place a diamond ring in her
dessert.
(c) He didn’t. Her father negotiated it with his father.
(d) He took her to a ball game and arranged to have to the proposal scroll
across the scoreboard.
Answers: 1—a; 2—c
• Suggestion for reflection and discussion: Betty’s remarks imply that it is
customary in this time period for the woman to propose to the man. Ask the
students how they feel about this.
• Suggested activities/inquiry-based exploration: Have the students research the
history of marriage and relationships.
Suggestions for more extended papers/projects, which allow students to reflect on
major themes in the book as a whole:
• In his book Heinlein in Dimension, Alexei Panshin discusses recurring character
types in Heinlein’s fiction: Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3. A Stage 1 individual is
young and competent, but naïve. A Stage 2 individual is older and knows how
things work. A Stage 3 individual is much older and not only knows how things
work but why, so he or she is better able to cope when things fail. Have students
contrast and compare John Thomas (Stage 1), Sergei Greenberg (Stage 2), and
Henry Kiku (Stage 3).
• Heinlein is usually associated with the political right. However, Mr. Kiku is a
wise and benevolent bureaucrat. Furthermore, while there are still states, there is
no United States of America in this story. It appears to have been absorbed into
something called The North American Union, which in turn is part of a Federation
of seventeen planets. The title of the chief executive of the Federation is
Secretary-General, the same as today’s United Nations, which implies that there
was a connection between the two organizations. There are also references to a
Fourth World War and the “riots of ‘91”. Have the students speculate on what
must have happened between now and then.

• The central theme of the story is the nature of friendship. Ask the students how far
they would go for a friend?
• Computers and cell phones are largely absent from this story, but flying machines
are ubiquitous and space flight is routine. Have the students contrast and compare
the present to this future.